Improved street-railway switch



To all persons to whom these presents may come such.

My invention is an improvementwith reference to- Q e' me??? 'iw i @tilleul 'i ,tant Xref/W @anni @time s IMPROVED STREET-RAILWAY SWITCH.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making parl: of the time.

Be it known that I, WILLIAM TUTTLE, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improved Switch-Mechanism for Railway-Carriages; and I do hereby declare the same to be fully describedin the following specification, and

represented in the acwmpanyingdrawings, of which- Figure l is a front-end view,

Figure 2, a longitudinal section, and

Figure 3, a transverse section of a railway-car provided with my invention.

Figure 4 is a top view, and

Figure 5, a transverse section of thev rails of two tracks, andthe deflector used at the junction of the tracks, such deflector being employed with the oscil-y latory shoe,'to` be hereinafter described, to effect the passage of a car from one to the other ofthe said tracks,

The purpose of `the invention is to enable the car to be switched from one track upon. another, or sideliug, and it accomplishes this by bearing against -the wheel of the car, and a cam or deileotor arranged on the track, and projecting-above it. I

I am aware that it is not new to one track to`another by means of a cam on one track, and by an arm projecting down from the car-body, such arm being provided with means for elevating and depressing it. I am also aware that it is not new to employ a shoe pivoted to a bracket, soasto vibrate vertically..Y This latter arrangement will be found in the patentof Allen and Snow, dated on or about October l5, A. D. 1867. Therefore, I make no claim to the said shoe; and in carrying out my improvement I so suspend the shoe, that when lowered to act against the deflector or earn of the track, and to rest directly against the inner face of the wheel to be deected, it may have a pendulons'lateral motion, and anoscillating longitudinal motion. The wheel is deflected by pressure made directly against it through the shoe,

which, when in operation, rests on and is drawn over the surface of the track, and against the cam or deiector, and is free to play up' and down, to rock longitudinally, as well as move laterally. rThis freedom of motion vertically, as wellas laterally and longitudinally, prevents the shoe from being caught by any sleeper or obstruction on thetrack, or enables it to pass such with great ease, and still, when necessary, perform its duty of aiding in deflecting the car from one track to another In thed drawings- A denotes the car or truck-naine;

B B, its axles; and

O G, the wheels.

The two deflectonshoes of a pair of the-wheels belonging to, one axle are shown at D D. Each is sup-4 ported by a hanger, a, extended from an arm, b, which projects from a horizontal shaft, c, arranged in proper bearings applied tothe truck-frame.

A handle, gl, extends upward from the front end of each of the shafts c, and between stops, e j; arranged nlow the shoe the proper lateral swing or motion.

deiiect Aa carv from' on the dasher g, in manner as represented in the-draw# ings. By laying' hold of the .'handle,vand moving it, the shoe may be either raised or depressed relatively to the track.

Furthermore, each of the shoes is ,supported by brace-chains or rods, hr1, extending from its two ends, in manner as represented iu the drawings, and being fastenedrto the carriage-frame, or a bracket, 7c, proj eeting down therefrom.

If desirable, the shoe may have. friction-rollers arranged Von either or both of its opposite vertical edges. So, the suspension-rod of the shoe may be arranged inv a guideftnbe, m, extended down from the carriage frame,l and' having a bore of sufficient diameter tcDeIr-lle brace-chains orrod serve to Support the shoe at its ends,.as well as to draw it along while in operation.

In respect' to the deectorf or switch U, instead of carrying the wheel-ange groove n entirely through it, I terminate it against a short inclined plane, o, which rises up to another inclined plane, p, which slopes in the opposite direction up to lr, the level of the rail T. Thence there is a down slope at q. The main-track rail is shown at T T', and the sideling-rail at S.

' Figure 6 is a longitudinal Section on the line x x, and

Figure 7, another'suoh section, on the line a: y of ng. 4.

The deiiector or cam is shown at lr as rising above the plane q. On its inner side, this deector is grooved lengthwise, as shown at s in iig. 5, the same being in order to enable the shoe, while passing along the deiiector, to enter such` groove, such groove serving to keep such shoe from slippingbff the deector.

The piupose of the inclined plane p, as arranged with the main-track rail T T', the sideling-rail S, and

the wheel-harige groove n., as shown in figs. 4, 5, and

6, and as above'described, is to prevent the wheel flange being diverted iutovthe groove a when it may be desirable to keep the wheel on' the track T T', and the wheel may be moving over the switch from T'to T'. l claim as my invention, the combination` of the shoe with the car-body, by'rneans-of` the links -or rods a and h, when these links are connected. to the said shoe and body iu such manner as to permitv of the shoe oscillating or .moving laterally as well as vertically, so

Vas to accommodate itself to the surfaces over, on, or

against which it may pass, substantially as described.

I also claim the combination of the steadying-tube m with the car-body, and the shoe applied thereto, substantially as described.

I' also claim the arrangement and4 combinationof the inclined planes or chutes, 11 and q, with the rails S T T', the flange-groove n, and the deflector ff.

I also claim the combination and arrangement of the inclined plane o, the groove n, the inclined planes orf chutes 1l q, v the rails S T T', and the deector r'.

WM. TUTTLE.

Witnesses:

' R. H. EDDY,

F. P. HALE, Jr. 

